“I will take your words this time… Now take these guys to the Konoha Hospital and get them treated…” said Kuroto as he looked at the pile of unconscious Uchihas not too far away.
“Yes, we will get to it right away.” Shisui and Itachi nodded, then got up to take transfer the eight unconscious Uchihas to the Konoha Hospital….
As both of them were about to get on the task, Kuroto looked at the surroundings with a frowned expression, then suddenly remembered something, and said, “Wait a sec, these guys must at least pay for the damage they have caused to the Hyuga Clan district this time… Anyway, they were boasting about their high salaries are until while ago… so, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal for them, right?”
As Kuroto posed such a condition, Hiashi narrowed his eyes, and nervously looked at the reaction of Shisui and Itachi…
However, much to his surprise, Itachi nodded without a second thought, “I will make sure of it… This time they have stepped out of their bounds, punishment is necessary, having them pay for the damage they caused is only reasonable.”
Itachi’s instant acknowledgment of Kuroto’s condition again shocked everyone…
Kuroto nodded lightly and waved his hand, “Alright then take them away…”
“Yes.” Shisui nodded quickly and got to it, at the same time, Itachi said to his two younger siblings, “Sasuke, Kiyomi, help us carry them to the Konoha Hospital…”
“Alright, Itachi-nii-san.” Kiyomi nodded silently with a thoughtful expression…
“Ye-yes…!” Sasuke also nodded, but with a dazed expression, and then followed Itachi and Shisui with a distracted expression on his face, he was thinking to himself, ‘Huh? What am I even doing here?’
Obviously, it was supposed to be Shisui and his Nii-san who were supposed to rescue Neji’s sensei, but the situation in front of him is completely different from what he had expected, and for a moment he couldn’t even figure out how in the world the situation became like this.
Although not very clear, he knew one thing… that is, this has something to do with Neji’s sensei…
Understanding so, Sasuke curiously looked at Kuroto not far away, and thought to himself, ‘Is it possible that Neji’s Sensei defeated all of them alone? But how could it be possible? They are all Jonin of the Uchiha Clan!’
Because Sasuke was distracted, he was unable to properly carry the unconscious Uchiha, and Kiyomi who was helping him had to struggle because of this… Seeing that Sasuke and Kiyomi might not be able to lift that Uchiha, Neji quickly stepped forward and hurriedly supported the two of them…
As Neji helped them Sasuke recollected his thoughts, and took this opportunity to ask him in a low voice, “Neji, are these people all defeated by your Sensei alone?”
Kiyomi also looked at Neji with a curious expression…
Under the curious gaze of Sasuke and Kiyomi, Neji nodded lightly and said, “Yes, Sensei defeated all of them alone, no one from the clan had to help him…”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and as he looked at Kuroto, he said in an insincere tone, “Neji, your Sensei is really strong… I didn’t expect that your Sensei could even defeat so many Jonin’s singlehandedly.”
To Sasuke’s insincere words, Neji didn’t say anything…
Originally, Sasuke wanted to help his friend and by the way, show off his Clan’s strength in front of his friend… But he didn’t expect that the ones who actually needed help were his clansmen, not Neji’s sensei…
Not only the clansmen who came to make trouble in the Hyuga Clan district were easily defeated, and they also lost the face of the Uchiha Clan, but even his Nii-san and Shisui were very respectful towards Neji’s Sensei… this made Sasuke’s cheeks flush in embarrassment.
And while the four Uchiha were carrying the unconscious Uchiha Jonins, Elder Hiruzen accompanied by several Anbu hurriedly arrived at the Hyuga Clan district.
As the former Hokage arrived, Hiashi led several Hyuga Clansmen and greeted him, then explained the ins and outs of all that happened here, at the same time, he expressed his gratitude to Sandaime-sama for coming to mediate the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan, although it is no longer necessary now because Hyuga Kuroto dealt with it by himself.
When the former Hokage heard that Hyuga Kuroto alone defeated all the eight Jonins of the Konoha Military Police Force, his eyes narrowed in surprise and shock.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen’s impression, Hyuga Kuroto was an excellent Anbu, an excellent squad leader as well as one of the best and most talented shinobi from the younger generation of Konoha… Based on the former Hokage’s understanding, Hyuga Kuroto’s strength should be somewhere between an elite Jonin and Quasi Kage.
It would be no surprise if Kuroto can defeat one or two Jonins of the Uchiha Clan himself, however, to defeat eight of them all by himself, that too singlehandedly and in such a short time, all while remaining unscathed himself? This record is a bit too dazzling, and it’s almost as if Kuroto has already reached the level of a Kage…!
Although doubtful, being an expert politician, he quickly suppressed his doubts for the time being and walked towards Shisui and Itachi.
Even if the ones who came intending to cause trouble and provoke the Hyuga Clan have been dealt with by Hyuga Kuroto, the Uchiha Clan must still be appeased in order to quell this matter. However, how to appease the arrogant and proud Uchiha Clan is still a headache… And if the Uchiha Clan isn’t satisfied, then this matter can continue to escalate in the future, which is not what Elder Hiruzen wishes to see.
As Sandaime-sama arrived closer to Shisui and Itachi with the intention of persuading the two of them, Shisui and Itachi took the initiative to greet him respectfully, and apologized for the actions of their clansmen, “Please forgive the Uchiha Clan for causing so much trouble… We will make sure that the ones who caused this conflict are given appropriate punishment as per the rules of Konoha Military Police Force.”
“In that case, I will not intervene and let the two of you handle the matter…” Sandaime nodded with a smile, although inwardly he was feeling something amiss as if something was wrong with the way things are turning out.
Doubtful, Sandaime further observed the status of the Hyuga Clan and everyone present here, and he found everything very strange.
It stands to reason that after having such a dispute, there should have been some tension in the air… However, looking at the expressions of everyone present here, he couldn’t find any such trace.
On one side a child of the Hyuga Clan was helping the two children of the Uchiha Clan, on the other side, a Kunoichi of the Hyuga Clan was guiding the medical-nin of the Konoha Hospital as the unconscious and wounded Uchiha Jonins were being transferred to the Konoha Hospital for further treatment.
Even the expressions of Shisui and Itachi were not irked or frustrated, nor was there any resentment or anger on their faces… which is strange, so strange that Sandaime had to swallow back the words of persuasion he had prepared beforehand.
Sandaime couldn’t figure out it exactly, but he could link all this strangeness with someone… the shinobi who is at the center of this mess, Hyuga Kuroto, and the former Hokage’s instinct were telling him that Hyuga Kuroto has everything to do with this strange atmosphere.
As the unconscious Uchihas were being transferred to the Konoha Hospital, Sandaime looked at them… He could clearly see that the wounds of the members of the Konoha Military Police Force are not that bad, and after just a few days of recovery, they can get back to normal…
Nodding to himself, Elder Hiruzen then walked towards Kuroto and said, “You handled this matter well… even I was surprised.”
Kuroto just smile lightly and said, “It wasn’t that troublesome… I didn’t expect that such a small matter would disturb Sandaime-sama… I apologize.”
The former Hokage shook his head and said with a sigh, “Any matter of two major Clans of Konoha, no matter how small it is, can’t be taken lightly… The village doesn’t dare to be negligent when it comes to the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan.”
Kuroto chuckled with an embarrassed expression, “I guess that’s true… But this matter has been resolved, Sandaime-sama doesn’t need to worry about it.”
“It’s good that this matter was resolved peacefully and didn’t escalate any further than it should have…” said Elder Hiruzen, then after a pause, he instructed, “Putting this matter aside, the preparations for the entrance ceremony have to be carried out… Kuroto-kun, you must put all your effort into it, there can be no mistakes.”
Subsequently, in the presence of Elder Hiruzen, all the wounded Uchihas were transferred to the Konoha Hospital, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, and Kiyomi left the Hyuga Clan district, the onlookers Hyuga Clansmen also gradually dispersed.
As everyone started to return back to their homes, one of the Hyuga Clansmen glanced at Kuroto’s back with a deep look… and the corners of his lips were arched in a mysterious smile.
As if feeling something, Kuroto glanced back and swept his gaze on everyone, but found nothing and muttered in confusion, “Strange, no one’s there… then why was I feeling as if someone was spying on me a little while ago?”
Kuroto didn’t have a lot of time to figure it out when suddenly Hizashi led Neji walked towards him and said, “Kuroto-kun, now I am certain… when I asked you to be Neji’s Sensei, I made the correct choice, rather, I would say it was perhaps the best decision of my life… please treat him well.”
Neji also hurriedly greeted Kuroto and respectfully said, “Thank you Sensei.”
Kuroto looked at Neji’s eyes and noticed that the previous confusion is no longer visible in Neji’s eyes, and he has become more cheerful and hopeful, so he nodded with a smile, “Ninja Academy will reopen in a few days… this time you are in the same batch as Uchiha Sasuke, in fact, even if I don’t count him, there are several other talented and hardworking children who will give you tough competition… So, work hard, else you will be left behind.”
“I will not let you down.” Neji nodded with an enthusiastic expression on his face… Now, Kuroto is not only his Sensei but also his role model.
For young children, a role model is very important… And now that Neji has believed Kuroto to be his role model, he will obviously do his best to make sure to not let down Kuroto’s expectations.
Kuroto nodded lightly, then once again glanced back with a thoughtful expression on his face… there was still no one behind him, but he had a feeling that for that little time, he was really being watched by someone… but considering that no one is present here, so he decided to put this matter at the back of his mind and focus on the matter at hand.
With that decided, Kuroto bid farewell to the Patriarch Hiashi, Hizashi, and Neji, then left the Hyuga Clan district with Yui.